Lusikkaleivät (Finnish spoon biscuits)

‘These delicate biscuits feature in Finnish celebrations all year round, but they’re a Christmas classic. The secret to their delicious nutty flavour is the brown butter, so it’s worth paying extra attention to this step. This is my grandmother’s recipe – I first made these with her as a little girl, so the recipe has seen many family Christmases.’

MAKES 30 biscuits

PREP 1 hr 15 mins plus cooling COOK 12 mins MORE EFFORT

200g unsalted butter 125g caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla sugar or

1 tsp vanilla paste 300g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda For the filling

75g good-quality or homemade raspberry jam

50g caster sugar

1 Heat the oven to 195C/175C fan/gas 51/2 and line two baking sheets with baking parchment.

2 Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat and cook for 10 mins, stirring regularly, until it turns golden and smells slightly nutty. Keep an eye on the colour as the butter can burn quickly. Immediately pour the butter into a large bowl, add the sugar and vanilla, and mix thoroughly. Leave to cool a little, then sieve in the flour and bicarb.

4 Use a large teaspoon to scoop pieces of the mixture and mould them, pushing

Vdown slightly to flatten the tops and smoothing away the excess on the sides with a finger. Slide off the spoon and arrange on the prepared baking sheet, flat side down. Repeat with the remaining mixture. Bake for 10-12 mins until light golden. Leave to cool completely. 5 Spread a small amount of jam on the flat side of each biscuit. Sandwich with another biscuit . Tip the sugar onto a plate, then roll each of the biscuits in it to coat.

PER SERVING 117 kcals • fat 6g • saturates 4g • carbs 15g • sugars 8g • fibre 0.4g • protein 1g • salt 0.1g

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